REVIEW: Wii Sports Resort for Wii

REVIEW

Wii Sports Resort
Wii
Nintendo

Reviewed by: Conno

The original Wii Sports kicked off Nintendo’s motion control phenomenon with a huge bang. The game became an instant hit, making its way into over forty-million households and going on to become the most successful video game of all time. Almost three years have passed since the Wii released, and despite many Wii games using the controller in interesting ways, it’s arguable that Wii Sports is still the best demonstration of Nintendo’s controller. While Wii Sports demonstrated the console’s capabilities admirably, the controller still seemed to have some annoying limitations, one being that the controller couldn’t actually detect full 1:1 motion in real time. A simple flick of the wrist was all one needed to successfully hit a ball in tennis or slice up enemies in Zelda. With Wii MotionPlus, Nintendo aims to bring precision that was impossible to pull off in the standard Wii remote’s design, and much like its predecessor, Wii Sports Resort demonstrates what Wii MotionPlus is capable of.

Wii Sports Resort includes twelve games, each of them with varying modes, some being multiplayer only. All of the games take place on Wuhu Island, an island resort with plenty of personality. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss all of the games individually.

Skydiving is the very first activity that everybody who boots up the game has to play (well, after watching that ridiculously redundant MotionPlus tutorial video). This mini-game is a fantastic initial demonstration of MotionPlus’s advantages over the original Wii remote. After jumping out of an airplane over the skies of Wuhu Island, the player is put into the control of a Mii, twisting around the remote to control the speed and direction of the descent. The player must catch other skydiving Miis and pose in front of the camera to score points. After the game is finished for the first time, it can be accessed in the Air Sports section (which I will get on to later). Skydiving is rather simple compared to the other sports, but it’s a very relaxing and stress-free game.

Swordplay is easily one of the best games in the package. Sword movement is incredibly responsive, offering a new layer of skill in head-to-head competition. The duel mode is an absolute blast in multiplayer. It’s not enough to simply flail around the controller, as it takes true strategy to win a match. Speed Slice is a frantic, reflex-based competition in which the player is quickly required to slice a random object in a certain direction. The final mode, Showdown, is definitely one of the best single player experiences in the game, as it pits the player against a plethora of Miis in a test of survival. The only real problem I’ve had with Swordplay is that it seems to be the most problematic when it comes to Wii MotionPlus recalibration. Simply put, sometimes MotionPlus will lose calibration (ie: sometimes the on-screen sword will move upward if the player moves the controller left). This can be remedied by pointing the remote at the screen and pressing down on the D-pad. It’s definitely a lot less apparent when the remote is level to the TV screen. When it does happen, it can sometimes be bothersome during hectic moments in Showdown.

Wakeboarding feels like the most minigame-ish of the collection, but it’s still a fun diversion. You hold the Wii remote sideways like a handlebar, tilting it left and right to steer and pulling it up to perform a trick when jumping over a wave. When in the air, you must tilt the remote to successfully land and obtain points for the trick. It’s a very basic game, but it can be extremely satisfying trying to chain tricks multiple times.

Frisbee offers two variants: one in which you throw a Frisbee in a certain direction so a dog can catch it, and another in which you play Frisbee golf on the island’s many courses. I personally find Frisbee to be one of the lesser games in the collection. While the game does a decent job at detecting wrist movement and direction, neither mode feels nearly as tight or responsive as the disc mode in Tiger Woods 10. Generally, if you suck at Frisbee-related games in real life, you’ll find Frisbee in Wii Sports Resort to be a world of frustration.

Archery is basically what you expect: hitting the target and attempting to get the best score possible. Wind conditions and distance must be factored in. The game becomes even more challenging when targets start moving. The controls work brilliantly and show off MotionPlus’s future potential in a Zelda game perfectly.

Basketball offers a big learning curb, but can be very satisfying once mastered. There are two variants of basketball: 3-point contest and a 3-on-3 game. The controls for basketball can be a bit tricky to master, but can become very satisfying with consecutive baskets. 3-on-3 is pretty shallow since you don’t really get any control over your character, but it’s a pretty entertaining experience in multiplayer. Overall, basketball is okay.

Another highlight of Resort’s collection of sports is Table Tennis, which is the equivalent of Tennis in the original Wii Sports. What makes this game so much better is its faster pace and overall greater precision. No longer is it just about timing your swings; twisting your wrist can give the ball some spin. An unfortunate drawback to Table Tennis is that you can’t play in doubles matches, which doesn’t make any sense considering that you can play doubles matches in real table tennis. Despite this flaw, Table Tennis is still a fantastic game for 1-on-1 competition.

Golf and Bowling are pretty much enhanced versions of their original counterparts. Golf now measures draw and fade and is much less frustrating to control than in the original version. It also comes with many more holes, including the original holes from the first Wii Sports. Bowling offers greater control over spin and includes a new 100 pin mode, making a perfect game of 3000 possible.

Power Cruising is another fantastic sport. In this game, you use the Wii remote and Nunchuck to steer a skidoo through rings that pop up in the water. Giving a simple “rev” with the Wii remote will give you a quick boost. The water physics in particular are incredibly realistic and the overall game is one of the most visually impressive in the entire package. While not as deep as Wave Race, Power Cruising is still an incredibly addicting game that I find myself coming back to time and time again.

Canoeing has the player making their way through a lake filled with obstacles (in a kayak, oddly) to the finish line before the time runs out. This sport is somewhat boring when played solo, but in groups, when playing co-operatively or competitively, it’s an absolute riot trying to ensure each player is doing everything right. The controls can take some getting used to; just make sure that you’re doing huge strokes and you’ll be fine.

Cycling is quite possibly one of the most underrated games in the compilation. Many critics state that the controls are horrible, but I’ve found them to be perfectly fine. Moving the Wii remote and Nunchuck up and down controls the pedals and move the controllers left and right to steer. Peddle too fast and your Mii will stop due to immense fatigue. This balancing ensures that races don’t become flail-fests. Cycling also offers some of the catchiest and most dynamic music in the game; as the Mii becomes tired, the music quiets down and a ticking begins reminding the player to conserve energy. The only real problem with cycling is that it doesn’t feel like actually controlling a bicycle.

The final segment of Wii Sports Resort, Air Sports may just be the unsung hero of this collection. Included with Skydiving, the Airplane mode enables players to explore Wuhu Island in its entirety, under a time limit of course. Control-wise, you tilt the controller up and down and steer in the respective directions and you can thrust the remote forward to boost and pull it back to slow down. Flyover is made all the more replayable with collectable i-Points (when you see a point of interest, you can fly through an “I” sitting over it to collect it), enabling some unlockables in the mode such as popping balloons. There are literally so many things to see on Wuhu Island, it will take numerous flyovers to see every nook and cranny.

Airplane also has a multiplayer variant called Dogfight, which pits two players against each other to see who can pop their rival’s balloons first. This mode can be rather entertaining for a while, but it’s somewhat of a shame that it only supports up to 2 players and has such limited settings. The island is so big that it could’ve been made a little more frantic with 4-player action.

To increase the lasting appeal for solo gamers, Nintendo has implemented a Stamp system for each sport that works just like Microsoft’s achievements. One minor problem I have with this system is that you can only view the stamps from a menu before you start a specific sport. To my understanding, there’s no way to view a unified menu of all of the stamps.

Closing Comments:
Wii Sports Resort is a fantastic compilation that trumps the original Wii Sports in almost every respect. It not only showcases Wii MotionPlus’s capabilities brilliantly, it also reinvigorates the local multiplayer experience that dominated living rooms almost 3 years ago. However, much like its predecessor, the overall quality of the sports in the compilation is subjective to the person’s interests. If you’re a huge fan of the original Wii Sports, chances are you already have this game in your collection. For everyone else, this is an easy recommendation as one of the most entertaining local multiplayer experiences this year.

Graphics: 8
The Miis are still as simplistic as ever, but the entire island comes together in a very colorful and visually appealing package.

Gameplay: 8.5
While most of the games aren’t as deep as traditional experiences, they are all very entertaining in their own way and demonstrate future potential for fleshed-out experiences.

Sound: 7
A very catchy soundtrack with a tropical twist really adds to the atmosphere of the entire game.

Controls: 9
Some games have a higher learning curb than others, but the sports still demonstrate Motionplus’s capabilities very well.

Lasting Appeal: 8
If you’re a solo player, there isn’t too much to come back to after collecting all of the stamps, but the local multiplayer makes this a game players will come back to for many months.

Overall Score: 8.5/10 (Not an average)